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arms race

arms race

22 4.2
A competition between countries to make more powerful weapons and military technology
  • noun
  • /ɑrmz reɪs/
translation icon : carrera armamentística
  • We are seeing an information age arms race unfold right before our very eyes in real time.
  • nuclear arms race
  • a new arms race
  • regional arms race

That's right, we must not lose the AI arms race.

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Examples

  • An arms race in the Arctic, Charles?

  • May provoke a nuclear arms race in space.

  • End the arms race, not the human race!

  • What do you think about the arms race?

  • Do you think we're in an AI arms race and where do you think that ends?

  • A new nuclear arms race could be expected in South Asia and other parts of the world.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Yet the arms race in conventional weapons is bound to continue for other reasons.

    Academic text (1995)
  • A successful Iranian bid to acquire the bomb will set off an unprecedented nuclear arms race throughout the region.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Whether or not humans retain control, an AI arms race may be a race to Armageddon.

  • The United States and Russia have been involved in an ongoing arms race to develop advanced military technologies.

Antonyms

disarmament
  • Specialized
51 5.5

To reduce or remove weapons and armies between countries to lower the chance of war

How Intense

arms race
22 4.2
to build up
  • Specialized
23 5.7
arms
2 2.8

Surface Forms

arms race singular
arms races plural

Morphology

arms + race

The phrase combines 'arms' (weapons) and 'race' (a competition), so a learner who knows both words can straightforwardly infer a competition to build or acquire weapons. This noun–noun compositional pattern is common across languages, making the overall meaning directly derivable and transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

The phrase arms race comes from the image of countries racing to build more and stronger weapons. Here arms means 'weapons' and race means a fast 'competition', so the phrase now means a competition between countries to get the most powerful weapons.